Minimal access surgical approaches to diseases of the cardiovascular system are becoming increasingly common. Traditional techniques of cardiovascular surgery are massively intrusive to the patient and induce severe trauma to the patient simply by the patient having to experience his or her chest being opened to access the heart. Furthermore, there is always the concern for blood loss in any surgery, especially heart surgery and vascular surgery. In many instances, such as the repair of an aneurysm, if angioplasty is not indicated, the cure could almost be as bad as the disease.
The present invention provides for minimally invasive surgical techniques that can quickly and simply repair a vessel, such as the aorta, so there is minimal loss of blood and minimal trauma to the patient.